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Building societies report record investments

In spite of the current global credit crunch, UK building societies benefited from record cash inflows during March, new figures show.

According to the latest figures from the Buildings Society Association (BSA) the sector brought it £1.26 billion over the month, representing a 70 per cent improvement on the same time last year and further proof that consumers are looking to protect their money amid the current economic uncertainty.

Adrian Coles, director-general of the BSA, noted: "Against the current uncertain economic climate, building societies are seen as tried and tested, traditional and trusted. Together with the competitive rates of interest they offer, these attributes mean societies continue to attract record levels of savings."

It was also revealed that building societies lent some £3,631 in March in comparison to £5,439 in the same month in 2007.

The publication of the figures comes soon after it was reported that growing numbers of consumers are choosing to keep their money at home rather than put it into banks or traditional investments.

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Poll reveals most useless gadgets of recent times

Electric carving knives, egg slicers and trouser presses have been named as some of the most pointless gadgets to have been offered to UK households over recent years.

While the rise of the internet has given consumers a host of new offers, particularly when it comes to household gadgets, many of these are not as good as their inventors would have originally believed.

According to a new study, the most pointless device of recent times is the electric nail file which, though not useless, called for consumers to spend up to £200 for something that did the exact same job as a 50p alternative.

This gadget beat laser-guided scissors into second place, with yoghurt makers, back scratchers, electric candles and electric fluff removers also ranking high.

Chris Winstanley, a spokesman for the website www.reevoo.com, which carried out the survey, said: "Some gadgets are really useful but this poll proves that many of them end up being a waste of money.

"Reading genuine reviews can tell you if a gadget or gizmo is likely to be the best thing you ever bought or if it will be in a cupboard and forgotten-about within a week."

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Heiress offers designer clothes in special fashion auction

One of the country’’s most fashionable women is offering hundreds of items of designer clothing over the internet.

While female consumers will be able to grab a fashion bargain, the sale of the 260 lots previously owned by the heiress Daphne Guiness is also expected to raise thousands of pounds for charity.

Ms Guinness, who has previously worked as a model, fashion designer and artist, has put some of her favourite dresses and accessories up for offer, including pieces by Yves Saint Laurent, Christian Dior, Dolce and Gabbana and Chanel.

"Anyone purchasing pieces in this sale will be able to pick up top designer-wear at a fraction of the original purchase cost," explained Kerry Taylor of fashion auctioneers Kerry Taylor Auctions, which helped set up the special event with eBay.

"Tom Ford believes Daphne to be one of, if not, the most stylish woman living and I would tend to agree."

As well as being an heiress to the Guinness brewing company, the 40-year-old also received a £20 million settlement from her 1999 divorce from the Greek shipping heir Syyros Niarchos.

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Npower withdraws its cheapest fuel offer

The energy supplier Npower has announced the withdrawal of its cheapest online duel fuel tariff, making it even more important for consumers to shop around and compare prices on the available utilities offers.

Until the start of this week, the company had offered households considerable savings through its Sign Online 10 tariff.

However, it has now been confirmed that this offer is to be updated, with bills for the average consumer set to go up by £83 a year as a result.

Npower has cited the rising cost of crude oil as well as the current strikes at the Grangemouth refinery in the North Sea as leading factors behind its decision.

However, a spokesman for the company also stated that the firm has no plans of introducing any more price increases in the foreseeable future.

"There are no plans to increase the price for any of our other tariffs at the moment. We don”t really talk about the online tariffs which can be withdrawn at any time," he told the Guardian.

According to some energy sector observers, prices may rise by between ten per cent and 25 per cent within the next year as cheap offers get increasingly hard to find.

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Coldplay announce special music download offer to mark return

Coldplay have announced that they are to offer music fans the chance to download their latest work for free.

To celebrate the launch of their new album, Vida la Vida, the four-piece have chosen to give people a taster through their website.

For a limited time only, therefore, visitors to the band’’s website will be able to download the single Violet Hill, while they will also be offering the new song as well as the track A Spell A Rebel Yell on a seven-inch vinyl to be given away free with this week’’s NME.

Furthermore, Coldplay have also confirmed that they will be treating fans to two free concerts over the coming weeks to mark their return.

In addition to a date at London’’s Brixton Academy on June 16, the band will also play at New York’’s Madison Square Garden exactly a week later, with details on how to obtain tickets to be made available on the band’’s website over the coming days.

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Year’’s biggest games get simultaneous UK launch

Two of the most eagerly-awaited titles have finally been given their official UK launch.

Playstation 3 and Xbox 260 owners will now be able to pick up and play Grand Theft Auto 4, the latest title in the controversial, yet hugely successful series of games which sees players navigate an in-depth Liberty City participating in all manner of crimes.

According to experts, the makers of the game, Rockstar, are particularly targeting ”traditional” gamers, namely young males, with this new product and millions are expected to take advantage of a spate of offers from retailers over the coming weeks.

Commenting on this new game, Neil Long, director of MCV magazine, told the BBC: "I think primarily it will push hardware sales up through the roof on the two formats it’’s on. Microsoft have been very keen to own this launch in terms of putting a lot of marketing out there and cutting the price of Xbox, Microsoft’’s message is get GTA IV for £200."

At the same time, Nintendo have also launched their Wii Gym game, aimed more at the family market and offering gamers the chance to keep fit while they play.

Among the exercises allowed through the new game are yoga and hula hoop spinning, both of which are done through a special board which is added on to the Wii console and comes with a price tag of around £70.

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Budget airlines announce new summer flight offers

A host of budget airlines have just announced the launch of a number of new routes that will offer UK holidaymakers cheap flights to destinations across Europe.

Last week the national carrier British Airways confirmed that it is to roll-out an expansion of its short-haul network, with a new route from London’’s growing City Airport to Dublin, which will soon be complemented by regular flights to Edinburgh as well as Nice in the south of France.

Now, low-cost rivals Ryanair and easyJet have unveiled their latest travel offers in the run-up to what is expected to be a busy summer holiday season.

The Irish firm will fly from London’’s Stansted Airport to the sunshine destinations of Rimini and Beziers from the start of June.

In addition, easyJet will launch a new Edinburgh to Nice route, as well as a Glasgow to faro service.

Furthermore, it will also start flying from Bristol Airport to Olbia on Sardinia as well as Biarritz and the Croatian city of Split.

David Osborne, easyJet UK manager, noted: "EasyJet has seen a huge increase in flights to summer sun destinations in 2007-2008 from Bristol International Airport, with the arrival of Ibiza, Bordeaux, Milan, Lisbon, Warsaw and Funchal last year. The new routes…reinforce our position as the UK’’s largest airline."

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Abbey announces new ”Zero” credit card offer

Abbey has announced the launch of its newest credit card, which offers consumers a host of benefits with no additional fees.

Called the ”Zero card”, the new product has been launched as the first credit card on the UK market to offer no balance transfer fees and no cash advance fee, in addition to not charging extra for foreign exchanges.

Given that the usual foreign exchange rate fee on an Abbey card is 2.75 per cent, this latest offer represents the ideal choice for Brits looking to use their plastic while abroad, while it also comes with a six-month interest free period on balance transfers and purchases.

Roger Lovering, managing director of Abbey Credit Cards, commented: "We promised the market that we would continue to innovate and that is exactly what we”ve done. The Abbey Zero card is the first ever card to eliminate all these fees at once.

"With no balance transfer fee and six months interest free, it’’s the perfect card to transfer a debt you want to pay off quickly and has clear advantages for the summer too. No foreign exchange fee makes holiday spending less expensive and Zero also has no cash advance fee for those rare times you might need cash in an emergency."

The launch comes as personal advisors advise consumers to shop around and compare credit cards as lenders reign in their best offers as they try and protect themselves from the effects of the credit crunch.

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Men outpace women as online shopping enthusiasts

British men are now spending more time shopping over the internet than their female counterparts, it has been revealed.

Research carried out by the management consultancy firm Accenture found that men have grown to embrace online shopping, with 56 per cent now preferring to buy a variety of goods this way rather than on the high street.

This is largely thanks to online retailers now targeting this part of the market, with a number of new websites launched allowing quick and easy access to all the latest fashion offers.

"Shopping for fashion online is a new experience for many men – they have to be educated to convert to it and, unlike women, the media hasn”t been busy bombarding them with ”the new look” on a weekly basis," Ali Khan, founder of menalamode.com, explained to the Independent.

"Lots of retailers have been reluctant to cater online to the male fashion customer when women have been so ready to buy online. But it’’s changing."

The findings come soon after a separate study by market researchers Nielsen found that 36 per cent of Britons with access to the internet have purchased clothes or accessories online in at least one occasion during the final quarter of 2007, more than double the number who did so in the same period of the previous year.

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Secret savers on the rise as internet banking becomes commonplace

The number of people putting money away in savings accounts on the quiet is set to soar over the coming years, thanks partly due to new offers of internet banking.

According to new research carried out by National Savings and Investments (NS&I) as many as one in four people will be keeping savings secret from their partner by 2050, a 300 per cent increase on the current level of one in ten.

In addition, the company concluded that women were more likely than men to keep the true extent of their wealth hidden from their significant other as many more take up attractive accounts offers rather than sticking with a joint account.

Dax Harkins, senior savings strategist at NS&I, said: "The change in the way people manage their finances and the advances in technology are widely heralded as progress in financial services.

"It is fascinating to see that they could lead to a trend of more individuals also having secret accounts and stashes of money, giving them much more freedom in the way they save and spend their money, whether that be on shoes or cars."

However, money experts have warned that keeping finances secret could lead to difficulties in relationships and make it easier to get into debt troubles.

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Holidaying Brits won over by revamped coastal towns

A spate of recent regeneration projects have led to UK coastal resorts enjoying soaring numbers of visitors.

That is according to the national tourism agency VisitBritain, which found that holidaymakers looking to take advantage of special offers within the UK are now, on average, younger than ever before.

This is due to a number of resorts becoming fashionable, alongside the warmer weather being seen in the UK and the fact that the falling value of the pound against the euro makes holidaying abroad too costly for many.

Sian Brenchley, spokesperson for VisitBritain, explained: "Brighton’’s a kind of fashion mecca to younger people, and you”ve also got coastal resorts around the UK capitalising on the food revolution – like Whitstable offering oysters."

The news comes soon after the culture secretary Andy Burnham announced plans to invest millions of pounds in improving the seaside towns of Blackpool, Dover and Torbay in an effort to offer Britons looking to holiday at home even more choice.

Around £4 million will be given to each of the big resorts, while a dozen other holiday destinations will also receive grants to help them cope with booming demand from holidaymakers.

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Brits holidaying at home to benefit from May Day offers

The hotel booking website LateRooms.com has announced a series of special accommodation offers for the forthcoming May Day Bank holiday.

With the Met Office having recently predicted that this year’’s summer is set to bring above average temperatures, millions of Brits are likely to make up for a disappointing Easter and take a holiday.

Furthermore, given that many consumers are starting to see their finances stretched in the wake of the global credit crunch, while the falling value of the pound against the euro makes a trip overseas more expensive than before, millions are expected to holiday in the UK, prompting holiday firms to launch a spate of offers as they compete for custom.

Among the UK holiday destinations on offer through the website are Alnwick Castle in the north-east, which is better known to many as the film location of the Hogwarts school of magic in the Harry Potter series.

In addition, it has offers on hotels close to the Eden Project in Cornwall and Tatton Park in Cheshire.

Chris Morris, managing director at LateRooms, said: "After last year’’s wet summer, the news of a warmer 2008 is coaxing people out of their homes and back into the great British countryside.

"There is a multitude of beautiful gardens and heritage attractions in the UK, which can be explored at length over the bank holiday weekend."

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Affordable fashion on the rise as shoppers get savvy

Growing numbers of British consumers are looking to take advantage of high street offers as they try to reign in their spending yet keep on top of the latest fashions, new figures from retailers suggest.

According to the latest statistics released by the ”value fashion” chain store Primark, its sales rise by 25 per cent to £899 million over the previous six months.

This means the store now has a ten per cent share of the UK clothing market by sales volume, putting it behind Marks and Spencer, which dominates with a 12 per cent share.

In addition to shoppers comparing high street fashion prices and looking for the best value offers, this trend towards the cheaper end of the market has been attributed to the rise of ”disposable” fashion.

A spokesman for the retail analysts Mintel explained: "Value clothing has become a lot more accessible and more importantly acceptable, especially with the growth of Primark and the supermarkets.

"For many the draw of the ”buy today, wear tonight, forget next week” outfit is just irresistible."

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53% of Brits losing out due to poor money management

Half of all British adults are failing to make their hard-earned money work for them by putting it in the best-value bank accounts, new research has revealed.

According to a new study conducted by the UK subsidiary of the Icelandic bank Kaupthing, 53 per cent of people leave any spare money they have at the end of the month in their current account.

This means that it is earning significantly lower levels of interest than it would be doing if it was put into another product on offer in the UK market.

"Leaving that money in your current account means that, not only may you not be getting the best returns on this money but you are also more likely to spend it on unnecessary purchases," said Ashley Whittaker, head of retail savings at Kaupthing Edge.

"As we now face the prospect of an economic slowdown it is more important than ever that people ensure they are making the most of their earnings."

At the same time, the study also revealed that, on average, Britons feel that they will need a sum of £92,507 to achieve financial peace of mind.

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Brits advised to compare contractors before taking home improvement plunge

With average temperatures across the UK continuing to rise, growing numbers of households are choosing to invest in home extensions such as conservatories and swimming pools, industry insiders have reported.

Furthermore, the forthcoming Olympic Games is likely to give an additional boost to the popularity of swimming pools, it has also been predicted.

According to new figures released by Spata, the regulatory body for the UK swimming pool industry, some 6,000 pools are built each year, with the sector worth £250 million annually, while a growing number of special offers is likely to cause this to increase significantly over the coming months and years.

"Modern pool construction methods have slashed both the time it takes to build a swimming pool and the cost," noted Richard Carrington, the body’’s chairman.

Indeed, above-ground models are now on offer for as little as £3,000, while fully-tiled and reinforced concrete pools are being offered for £35,000.

However, homeowners have been advised to shop around and compare both prices and the reputation of the company offering pool-building services before they take the plunge, with Spata compliance one sure sign of a reputable company.

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New deal boosts Nokia music download offers

Nokia has confirmed that it has signed an important new deal with the record label Sony BMG which will allow it to offer customers millions of songs to download.

This latest development means that the Finnish company now has deals in place with two of the world’’s big four record labels, with Universal Music having signed up late last year and is likely to further boost the popularity of its Comes With Music Service.

Through the service, customers are able to buy a special handset and then download as much music as they like over their phone for the duration of a one-year contract.

In addition, the offer also allows customers to keep their downloaded tracks and even transfer them onto another device once their contract is up.

Tero Ojanpera, executive vice president and head of the Nokia entertainment and communities business, commented: "As one of the leading major music companies in the world, our collaboration with Sony BMG means we can offer a huge range of fantastic music from international and local artists via Comes With Music."

Among the artists on offer to Nokia customers are Britney Spears, Bob Dylan, Foo Fighters, Michael Jackson and X Factor winners Leon Jackson and Leona Lewis.

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Movies ”define summer” for growing numbers of Brits

More Britons will enjoy going to the movies than sunbathing or country walks over the coming summer, a new study has found.

Regardless of what the weather may have in store, a majority of people look forward to the summer due to the large number of blockbuster movies on offer, both at their local cinemas and on DVD.

Some 81 per cent of those adults polled by the Film Distributors” Association (FDA) felt that the summer was the time when "a lot of the year’’s best films come out", with two-thirds looking forward to going to see a movie at least once.

Indeed, only going on holiday and enjoying a barbecue with friends was found to be a more popular activity among Brits, with movies beating music festivals and watching the Olympics as a top summer priority across the country.

"The survey indicates that, for most of us, our summers are partly but increasingly defined by the experience of the films we see in cinemas," noted FDA chief Mark Batey.

The findings come ahead of the launch of the magazine Focus, one million copies of which will be given out for free in a special summer offer.

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Brits turning to arts and antiques investments

Growing numbers of Britons are choosing to put their money into alternative investments such as art and antiques as they react to the volatility of the world’’s financial markets.

New figures released in the first art and antique survey carried out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Rics) show that there has been a 50 per cent increase in items valued at over £5,000 being sold at auction.

Among the top performing investments so far in 2008 are silver and furniture, with the latter seeing a 37 per cent increase in lots of over £5,000 being sold.

In addition, sales of art have also increased significantly, diven largely by growing interest in contemporary works by the likes of Banksy and Damien Hirst.

Rics spokesman Christopher Ewbank said: “The arts and antiques market remains a viable investment option during this period of financial uncertainty.

“Many investors are using their disposable incomes to buy in at the high end with the hope that value will continue to stay firm while stocks and bonds ebb and flow.”

British buyers have also been given a boost as the strength of the pound has seen US investors turn away from the UK market.

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M&S achieves awards clean sweep for insurance products

Mark’’s & Spencer has scooped a number of top prizes for its finance products at an industry awards ceremony.

All of the products offered through the M&S insurance portfolio were awarded five stars by the independent financial services benchmarking company Defaqto.

This includes its annual and single trip travel insurance offers, home buildinhs and contents cover, car insurance and pet insurance.

Commenting on this latest recognition, Brendan Cook, M&S Money’’s chief executive said: “This rating is a great indication of the standard of insurance available from M&S Money. We are proud of the policies we have put together in conjunction with our insurance partners and feel that they are some of the best available in the current market.”

The awards come after Defaqto compared around 97 per cent of all the financial services products currently on offer in the UK, with only a small proportion of these gaining a five star rating - highlighting the importance of shopping around for the best deal.

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